With Carlos Ghosn gone, Japan is being forced to grapple with his legacy -- and to decide whether to keep faith with the business revolution in which he played a role. © AP

What Japan Inc. really thinks about Ghosn, Nissan's maverick savior

Carlos Ghosn's downfall sets up a clash between Japan's old guard and its reformists

JOHN GAPPER, Editor-at-large, Nikkei Asian Review, and MITSURU OBE and ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writers

January 15, 2020 15:23 JST

TOKYO -- The Tsuru banquet room at the Hotel New Otani in Tokyo is decorated with images of Japanese cranes in flight. The white-feathered bird is regarded in Japan as a symbol of longevity and faithfulness, and formerly featured on the most common bank note, the 1,000 yen bill; tsuru no hitokoe -- "the crane's word" -- is a Japanese proverb for a decisive intervention from an authoritarian figure. Its broad wings often carry it across great distances.